Battle of Britain day 'a time to remember all who lost their lives in the conflict'

Battle of Britain day should be a time to reflect on all those who lost their
lives in the conflict, the Officer Commanding the Royal Air Force Battle of
Britain Memorial Flight Ian Smith has said.

Twin engined Dornier 17 used by the Luftwaffe during the Second World WarPhoto: PA

By Nicholas Milton

5:08PM BST 15 Sep 2010

The call comes as the number of pilots alive who saw active service on both sides of the battle dwindles and Germany continues to agonise over how it should celebrate the heroism of its Luftwaffe pilots.

“It’s vital to respect the memories of those pilots who fought on the British side” according to Squadron Leader Ian Smith.

“but while there are still pilots alive on both sides we need to commemorate not just our sacrifices but theirs as well. Make no mistake the regime was truly appalling but seventy years on surely it’s time to distinguish between Nazism and the bravery of German pilots?

"Like all military personnel they were just following orders and like a lot of our boys they made the ultimate sacrifice”.

The day of the 15th September is celebrated as Battle of Britain day as it is considered by historians to be the turning point in the conflict but it only recognises the heroism of what Winston Churchill famously referred to as Britain’s ‘Few’.

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Germany rarely honours its Second World War pilots because it is deemed to be insensitive to the victims of the Nazi regime and there is no day commemorating their bravery.

Over the years, however, many pilots on both sides have been reconciled with Douglas Bader, the legless hero of the Battle of Britain famously becoming friends with his great adversary Adolf Galland, the Luftwaffe ace.

This year to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the battle they have been in great demand and did a fly-past over Westminster Abbey recently to mark the annual service of thanksgiving for those who fought in the conflict.

Smithy has been flying with the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for four years. He joined the RAF in 1983 and has served in Germany as well as seeing action as a pilot in Iraq and Bosnia.

This year flew with a Messerschmitt Me109, the famous German fighter of the Second World War, for the first time at the Farnborough air show in July.

The call received the support of one of Britain’s remaining ‘Few’, Spitfire pilot William Walker. Flight Lieutenant Walker, now 97, was based at RAF Lakenfield in Yorkshire and was shot down in the Battle of Britain.

“It’s time to commemorate all the pilots who took part in the conflict. Unlike us many German pilots had already seen a lot of action over Poland and France. In contrast I was a complete rookie and went into action in June 1940 after just five hours training."

Two months later Walker was shot down over Dover by the Luftwaffe ace Werner Mölders.

“I know William well and love him dearly. I’m sure he’d agree with me that he is lucky to be alive” said Sqn Ldr Smith. “In fact getting shot down probably saved his life.

"Mölders fired up through the bottom of the cockpit, missing the armour plating and the bullet went straight into his ankle. William was wounded but lived to fight another day. In contrast Mölders was killed a year later. We need to celebrate the lives of both.”

Mölders is one of Germany’s most famous air aces but his legacy is still the subject of much debate there.

He was the first person in aviation history to be credited with 100 aerial kills or victories and at the end of the Battle of Britain his tally was 68 including Walker.

Mölders was then transferred to the Eastern Front where by the end of June 1941 he had surpassed the record then held by Manfred von Richthofen, the famous First World War pilot known as the Red Baron, of 80 victories set in 1918.

By mid July 1941 he had reached 100 and was then retired by the Nazi regime for propaganda purposes. Ironically Mölders was killed in the November in a conventional air crash when he was ordered back to Berlin to attend the state funeral of another World War One ace, Ernst Udet.

A devout Catholic, Mölder’s supporters say he worked with the church against the Nazi regime but this has never been categorically proved.

His death, however, was quickly exploited by British propaganda who distributed a letter via the Catholic church in Germany saying Mölders strong beliefs led him to oppose the Nazi regime.

This infuriated Hitler who personally offered a one hundred thousand reichsmark reward to find out who wrote the letter.

After the war a fellow ace, Gunther Rall, who rose within the new German air force to become a military attaché with Nato, said of him “He was a marvellous tactician. My admiration for him was boundless. He had a great wit and great personality. He was the most highly principled man I ever met”.

Mölders was honoured by the German government in 1973 and had a fighter wing named after him. But he was stripped of this honour in 2005 due to his still disputed role in the controversial bombing of Guernica during the Spanish civil war in 1938.

What is beyond dispute is that Mölders was a gentleman. He demanded that all captured Allied pilots be treated civilly and would often invite them to dine with him.